This invention relates to overhead merchandise displays for use in retail establishments, and more particularly to an overhead cigarette pack merchandiser which can be adjusted to accommodate the particular heights of individual store personnel.
Overhead merchandise displays are well known in the retailing field, particularly for use with small items and especially those which are available in a large variety of sizes or brands. Located above the counter of a retail store, these displays help prevent theft, because the items are accessible only to the store clerk. At the same time, the clerk need not divert his eyes from the rest of the store while selecting the item requested. The displays also encourage impulse buying by displaying fast-moving, high-profit items to the customer while he waits for service.
These units are generally supported by columns from below, or by columns or chains from the ceiling. They are open only at the rear, facing the sales clerk, while the front and sides, which are closed, can carry advertising which may, for example, indicate to customers the type of merchandise within. Alternatively, the front and side panels may be fully or partly transparent, affording the customers a view of the contents. These two features can be combined, so that the panels are partly transparent, with the non-transparent portion bearing advertising. Hooks can be provided on the exteriors of the side and front panels for hanging other types of merchandise often bought on impulse.
For example, one type of overhead cigarette display in use is supported by posts from either above or below. The front side, facing the customers, carries backlit advertising transparencies for various cigarette brands, surrounding a lighted clock or other customer-attracting feature. Cigarettes are held in wire mesh drawers within the enclosure, accessible to the clerk from the rear. The drawers are positioned at an angle, so that each time a pack is removed a new one is fed by gravity to the position vacated by the first pack. The drawers are mounted on standard track and glide mounts, such as those used in filing cabinets, which allow them to slide down for easy stocking.
Another known type of overhead cigarette merchandising display is supported by posts from below. In this display, cigarettes are stored in a succession of vertical magazines mounted on tracks or glides for vertical movement. Each magazine comprises several columnar sub-magazines which dispense cigarette packs from the bottom. As a pack is removed, the remaining packs in that column shift downward, so that another pack takes the place of the one removed. The bottom of each successive vertical magazine is lower than that of the one before it, with the magazine closest to the clerk the highest. By virture of this stepped arrangement, the clerk has access to the bottom of each column without moving any of the magazines. The height of each "step" is such that several packs of each brand are visible. The magazines can be reloaded by lowering them on their tracks, allowing access to the tops of the columns. Both the front and rear panels of the display can carry advertising.
A third known type of overhead merchandise display is supported by chains from above. The cigarette packs are stored in columns which are gravity-fed as described above in connection with the second type of display. The side facing the customer can be completely transparent, or can be fitted with one of a number of additional merchandising aids. One such aid could be manufacturer's advertising, or a "reader board" on which the storekeeper can display any desired message such as special sales, seasonal messages, or menus (in the case of a foodservice counter). Another available merchandising aid with which the exterior panels can be equipped is a pegboard on which other items often bought on impulse, such as photographic film, razor blades, batteries and other items, can be displayed. Both of these aids leave a portion of the transparent panel visible so that the customer can see the brands of cigarettes that are available.
These overhead displays have not proven to be completely satisfactory. First, they are all generally box-like in appearance, and are not especially attractive even after the addition of sometimes elaborate electrified advertising. Second, and more important, they lack the necessary degree of height adjustability.
In selecting the height at which an overhead merchandising display is mounted, there are two competing considerations. One is that the unit should be low enough that the shortest clerk who will be staffing the counter can reach it without undue discomfort. The other is that it should be high enough that the tallest clerk can see under it clearly, without stooping.
The height of many of the conventional units described can be changed, but only by coarse, discrete adjustments which require at least partial disassembly of the unit, and are usually made, in practice, only at the initial installation.